The First Year

Happy Birthday Lil' Dude!

Happy Birthday Lil' Dude!

It's official... Shea is now 1 years old! He is a big guy now. He loves to read his books, play cars, climb the stairs, get chased and play his music instruments.

This weekend we had a monkey theme birthday party for him. We had all hands on deck! Here is my dad helping out by putting the goody bags together (banana bread, finger puppet and chocolate monkey sucker).

My mom found a book that had monkey cupcakes in it and here is how ours turned out! Not too bad!

I bought the invitation, banner, gift bag tags, thank you cards and other printable items off of Frog Prince Paperie. I sent the files to Staples and got them printed there. The banner is amazing printed! It is definitely a keeper!

Overall, his birthday was great! I have had a wonderful year getting to know this special little dude and can't wait to see what this next year holds for him!

Slow Progress

A friend of mine was searching my blog and came across this bag that I had made. She requested one for her knitting supplies and since I owed her a hand made craft, I agreed. However, having a 11 month old really restricts the amount of time I am able to sew. I was finding that when I did have the time, the sewing machine would wake him up from his naps. So, I moved the sewing machine downstairs. How do you manage to find time to sew/craft?

That still didn't really help! I have been trying to finish the bag all week and basically I have done the outer shell and the liner:

I still need to add the inside pockets and the straps. One day it will be done!

Eleven Months Old - Shea's Monthly Photo

Monster Shaker + Tutorial

Shake, shake, shake your sillies out with this great Monster Shaker! It is a great way to use up those scraps of fabric (fleece, fuzzy, terry towel, etc) and have fun.

We are giving this monster to a one year old, so we kept the decorations simple so they aren't a choking hazard. For older kids, google eyes and other decorations would be fun!

I created a tutorial which you can download from here. It is super simple craft and doesn't take too much time to complete. And for older kids, they could decorate their own monster shakers.

This is my first tutorial, so if you find an errors or need clarification, please let me know.

Download Tutorial Here

Fluffy Stuffy Bunny

It's been a year since the Olympics. It is hard to believe! This means some of Shea's friends are having their first birthday parties! Yikes! I am noticing a trend that many of the people are requesting no gifts. The kids seem to have everything they need and so many toys.

That being said, I always feel badly not bringing a little something. So, I decided to use the stuff around my house to make some toys for the kids.

The first idea I had was to make a small stuffie. My first attempt was making sock monkeys, but that didn't pan out. I found them too boring. Then I found this cute little bunny pattern from Jenny over at All Sorts blog. It was so cute and looked simple to make I had to try to make one.

The bunny took me about 2 hours in total to make. Not too bad and I would definitely get faster at making these. Jenny's instructions are great and she had some really good tips. I loved how she used the freezer paper - it definitely made sewing the bunny easy and quick. I did add bells in the ears of the bunny - so they flop a little more (from the weight of the bells). I also made a mess at making the pom-pom because I bought fuzzy yarn rather than regular yarn. The fuzz went everywhere once it was cut. So, I had a pre-made pom-pom that I sewed on the bunny instead.

I am definitely going to be making more of these little bunnies and I plan on making a super hero cape for them. Once I figure out the pattern for the cape, I will post it on here.

Ten Months Old - Shea's Monthly Photo

This is Shea's ten month picture! I got a new camera and had a great time using it for these photos - definitely worth the money!

Christmas Book to look at

Click here to view this photo book larger

Wall Stickers for Kids

Today while browsing OhDeeDoh, there was an amazing room that used wall stickers from a company called e-glue based in France. I really enjoyed their take on larger wall stickers! They are quite expensive, but keep in mind they are quite large. Check out the room on OhDeeDoh that incorporated them in their small room design.


Another post on OhDeeDoh explored various wall murals. I really thought eazywallz had the best design for wall murals though.

All these wall stickers has me itching to re-design the guest bedroom into Shea's playroom!

Tiles are finally hung

DB bought me some amazing Xenia Taler tiles for my birthday a few years ago. They have been sitting beside the stove waiting to be hung. My sister got fed up with them collecting dust and hung them above my stove. They look so great! Now when I am cooking, I have something to appreciate.

Steph and Shea discussing how to hang the tiles

Thanks Steph!